The reserve study company Association Reserves Inc. has launched a new score intended to distill the overall health and efficiency of a community association into a single number. The so-called FiPHO — which stands for financial, physical, and operational — health score ranges from 1 to 100. “This new system is a direct result of…

The reserve study company Association Reserves Inc. has launched a new score intended to distill the overall health of a community association into a single number. The so-called FiPHO — which stands for financial, physical, and operational — health score ranges from 1 to 100. “This new system is a direct result of the Surfside…

The City of Chicago has established a $15 million financial assistance program to help owner-occupants and associations in one particular neighborhood pay for overdue repairs and maintenance. The South Shore neighborhood of Chicago is one of the city’s most densely populated. Located along Lake Michigan, it’s home to the University of Chicago, the Museum of…

The City of Chicago has established a $15 million financial assistance program to help owner-occupants and associations in one particular neighborhood pay for overdue repairs and maintenance. The South Shore Condo/Co-op Preservation Fund Pilot is intended to help condo owners at risk of losing their homes to deconversion because of their inability to pay for…

Associations are making headlines across the country — and not in a good way. Stories about the overly aggressive pursuit of fines, fees, and foreclosures are going viral on a regular basis. This enforcement overexuberance has many implications for community associations. In July 2022, the Washington Post reported that a Texas couple put their house…

The North Carolina Court of Appeals has ruled that original plat maps depicting a golf course didn’t give an adjacent HOA or its members a right to block redevelopment of the property (Cape Homeowners Ass’n, Inc. v. Southern Destiny, LLC*). This is the third recent case where the court considered whether property owners held easements…

A Maryland court found that the interested director transaction rule called into question the propriety of the board’s decision regarding an assessment to cover the costs of landscaping in a mixed community. Such issues could become more common going forward. “We’re seeing a trend toward more mixed communities,” says Ursula Burgess, a shareholder in the…

Associations are making headlines across the country — and not in a good way. Stories about the overly aggressive pursuit of fines, fees, and foreclosures are going viral on a regular basis. “You want responsible patrolling to maintain property values,” says Alan Garfinkel, founding partner of Garfinkel Law, a full-service community association law firm in…

A Maryland court found that the interested director transaction rule called into question the propriety of the board’s decision regarding an assessment to cover the costs of landscaping in a mixed community (Cherington Condominiums v. Kenney). Such issues could become more common going forward. “We’re seeing a trend toward more mixed communities,” says Ursula Burgess,…

A new bill has been proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives that would make it easier for condo associations to obtain financing to make critical repairs and replacements. The “Rapid Financing for Critical Condo Repairs Act of 2022” (H.R. 8304) follows the introduction earlier this year of the Securing Access to Finance Exterior Repairs…